Cable-jacket removal tool

ABSTRACT

A cable-jacket removal tool is described. The tool includes cutting unit that provides a cutting cylinder that carries a blade and a die. The blade is adjustable to provide a desired depth of cut into the cable jacket. The die is interchangeable and selectable based on a diameter or gage of cable to be stripped. A drive unit that is adapted to be driven by a common, handheld, battery operated drill is also provided. The drive unit rotates the cutting cylinder and the blade carried thereby about the circumference of the cable. The drill is coupled to the drive unit such that the axis of rotation of the drill and the cutting cylinder are substantially parallel and an operator can easily apply a force on the tool via the drill in a direction substantially parallel to those axes of rotation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/687,312, filed Jun. 20, 2018, the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

Tools to remove the outer insulating jacket of wires and cables vary intheir design and function usually based on the gauge of wire/cable to bestripped. Smaller gauge wires can often be stripped using handheld toolssimilar to pliers which first cut the outer jacket and then allow thatportion of the jacket to be removed by pulling or sliding off the wire.These simple handheld jacket removal tools are not large enough toaccommodate larger gauge cables such as those commonly used as primaryunderground electrical cables.

Wire strippers for larger gauge wires on the market today are designedfor end stripping of wires to a preset length within the tool—typicallyone to three inches in length. During installation of new electricalservices, it is often required to strip up to three feet of the outerjacket from the wire. Today this is manually accomplished by pulling asingle strand of wire out of the larger bundle of wires in a cable. Theexposed end of the strand is pulled away from the bundle and along thelength of the cable using a hand tool, such as a pair of pliers. Thestrand itself may cut through the jacket as it is pulled away from thebundle or pulling the strand away from the bundle may provide a spacebetween the bundle and the jacket in which to insert a cutting tool,such as a pair of pliers, nippers, dykes, or the like to cut the jacket.This process is difficult and may cause tremendous strain on theoperators as well as potential safety concerns.

Worker fatigue and safety are two major concerns in any industry and theutility industry is no different. For safety purposes, most utilitycompanies no longer allow employees to use a knife for any purpose onthe job due to the number of associated injuries. As a result, in orderto remove outer insulating jackets from heavy gauge wires or cablesinstallers are left with very few options.

As described above, most available tools configured to remove the jacketfrom large gauge cables are only capable of removing a small section ofthe jacket at the end of the cable. One such known tool is the WS 5Series UTILITYTOOL provided by Ripley Tools, LLC of Cromwell, Conn. TheWS 5 Series tools comprise a cylindrical tube that is installed on anend of a cable to be stripped and may be operated manually by rotatingthe cylinder about a longitudinal axis of the cable by hand or with theaid of a wrench-style tool. An adaptor may be provided to enable use ofa common handheld drill to rotate the tool. The cable is inserted intoone end of the tool coaxial with the cylinder and the drill is coupledto an opposite end of the tool and coaxial with the cylinder and thecable. As such, the WS 5 Series tools are limited to stripping orremoving the jacket from cable by the depth of the cylinder; the WS 5Series tools are advertised as being limited to stripping only about5.75 inches of cable length.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,391,435 to Woodward, U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2013/0055571 to Nugent, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,458 to Schoenlebereach describe devices similar to the WS 5 Series tool.

Korean Pat. No. 101847404 describes another stripper for insulated wire.The stripper includes a peeling unit and a drill member. The peelingunit includes a wheel with a toothed circumference that is disposed on acable to be stripped with the cable extending through a central aperturein the wheel. A stripping or peeling knife is coupled to the wheel to berotated about the circumference of the cable by rotation of the wheel. Aworm gear is aligned transverse to the length of the cable and is meshedwith the teeth of the wheel. The drill member is disposed transverse tothe length of the cable and is adapted to rotate the worm gear. Thewheel is thereby rotated to cause the knife to cut the insulation jacketfrom the cable.

A tool that enables cutting or stripping of an outer jacket of largegage wires and cables without undue strain on the operator is needed. Atool that can provide such stripping along any length of wire or cablein a single operation is also needed.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments are defined by the claims below, not this summary.A high-level overview of various aspects thereof is provided here tointroduce a selection of concepts that are further described in theDetailed-Description section below. This summary is not intended toidentify key features or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine thescope of the claimed subject matter. In brief, this disclosure describesa cable-jacket removal tool for removing a protective jacket from adesired length of wire or cable for preparing the wire/cabletermination.

The jacket removal tool includes a cutting unit and a drive unit. Thecutting unit includes a cutting cylinder with a blade housing coupledalong a leading end thereof. The cutting cylinder provides a centralbore through which a cable is insertable. A recess or cutout is formedin the leading end of the cutting cylinder positioned within the bladehousing to enable a blade mounted on the blade housing to extend intothe central bore and into engagement with a cable disposed therein. Theleading end of the cutting cylinder is further adapted to removablyreceive a die. A plurality of dies having selected interior dimensionsconfigured to adapt the tool to a particular diameter cable may beprovided and interchangeably coupled within the leading end of thecutting cylinder.

The drive unit includes a housing through which the cutting cylinderextends. A drive axle protrudes from the housing at a location spacedtransversely apart from and parallel to the cutting cylinder. Thecutting cylinder and the drive axle are operably coupled to a gear trainwithin the housing. The drive axle is configured for coupling with acommon hand-held drill or similar drive means such that the drill may beemployed to power rotation of the drive axle and thereby rotation of thecutting cylinder relative to the housing.

In operation, an appropriate die is selected and installed in theleading end of the cutting cylinder based on the size of cable or wireto be stripped. An end of the cable or wire is inserted through the die,into the leading end of the bore in the cutting cylinder and movedtoward a terminal end of the cutting cylinder into engagement with theblade. The position of the blade radially within the bore in the cuttingcylinder may be adjusted to provide a desired depth of cut into thecable or wire. A drill or similar drive means is coupled with the driveaxle and is operated to provide rotation of the cutting cylinder andthus the blade carried thereby about the cable. The blade engages andcuts into the jacket on the cable as the blade moves about thecircumference of the cable. A force may be provided by an operator inthe longitudinal direction to aid movement of the tool along the lengthof the cable or wire. The cut portion of the jacket exits the cuttingcylinder and the blade housing via a blade window in the cuttingcylinder and an opening in the blade housing which may be formed toredirect the cut portion away from the cable or wire and the operator.The operator may continue the operation until the jacket has beenremoved from a desired length of the cable or wire without limitation toany particular length. The tool may then be removed from engagement withthe cable by moving or sliding in the opposite longitudinal directionalong the cable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments are described in detail below with reference tothe attached drawing figures, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a cable-jacket removal tool depictedin accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded top perspective view of the cable-jacketremoval tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cable-jacket removal tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional front-end elevational view of thecable-jacket removal tool taken along the line 4-4 depicted in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the cable-jacketremoval tool taken along the line 5-5 depicted in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective, exploded view of the cable-jacket removal toolof FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the cable-jacket removal tool ofFIG. 1 depicted installed on a cable and with a handheld driver coupledthereto in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the cable-jacket removal tool, cable, anddriver of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the cable-jacket removal tool, cable,and driver of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of select exemplary embodiments is described withspecificity herein to meet statutory requirements. But the descriptionitself is not intended to necessarily limit the scope of claims. Rather,the claimed subject matter might be embodied in other ways to includedifferent components, steps, or combinations thereof similar to the onesdescribed in this document, in conjunction with other present or futuretechnologies. Terms should not be interpreted as implying any particularorder among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and exceptwhen the order of individual steps is explicitly described. The terms“about” or “approximately” or “substantially” as used herein denotedeviations from the exact value by +/−10%, preferably by +/−5% and/ordeviations in the form of changes that are insignificant to thefunction.

With reference to FIGS. 1-9, a cable-jacket removal tool 10 is describedin accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The cable-jacket removaltool 10 is configured to remove an outer jacket 12 or insulating layerfrom a cable 14. The tool 10 is described herein with respect to usewith a cable 14, however such is not intended to limit application ofthe tool 10 to any particular cable, wire, or similar component. Forexample, as known in the art, cables 14 generally comprise a pluralityof leads, wires, or conductors 16 as well as insulating members 18,among other components disposed in a variety of arrangements within anouter, protective jacket 12. One example of which is depicted in FIGS.7-9. Wires are generally understood as comprising a single conductor ora plurality of braided conductors within a protective, outer jacket.Conductors within cables and wires may comprise conductors forelectrical, optical, or other transmissions, such as metallic strands,fiber strands, fiber optic strands, among a variety of others. All suchconfigurations are referred to generally herein as cables 14.

The cable-jacket removal tool 10 comprises a cutting unit 20 and a driveunit 22. The cutting unit 20 is operably coupled with the drive unit 22to be rotated by the drive unit 22 about the cable 14 inserted throughthe cutting unit 20. The cutting unit 20 comprises an elongate cuttingcylinder 24, a blade housing 26, and a die 28.

The cutting cylinder 24 extends in a longitudinal direction and providesan axial central bore 30. The central bore 30 is provided with a radialdimension sufficient to receive the cable 14 therethrough and ispreferably sized to receive a predetermined maximum size cable 14. Atleast a leading portion of the central bore 30 extending inward from aleading end 32 of the cutting cylinder 24 is dimensioned to receive thedie 28 therein. In one embodiment, the leading portion of the centralbore 30 has a greater radial dimension than the remainder of the centralbore 30 to provide clearance for insertion of the die 28 and may providea shoulder 33 against which the die 28 may be abutted. A portion of awall of the leading end 32 of the cutting cylinder 24 is removed to forma blade window 34 that is substantially positioned within the bladehousing 26 as described more fully below.

The blade housing 26 is affixed to the cutting cylinder 24 at or nearthe leading end 32. The blade housing 26 includes a housing bore 36sized to receive the leading end 32 of the cutting cylinder 24 andprovides an opening 38 that is aligned with the blade window 34 in thecutting cylinder 24.

The opening 38 is defined by a forward wall 40, a sidewall 44, and abase wall 46. The base wall 46 includes a blade channel 48 and one ormore ejector surfaces or guide surfaces 50. A blade 52 is disposed inthe blade channel 48 and extends at least partially through the bladewindow 34 in the cutting cylinder 24 and into the central bore 30 wherethe blade 52 can contact the cable 14 disposed therein. The blade 52 isretained in the blade channel 48 via a fastener 54, such as athumbscrew, disposed to extend through the blade 52 and through theblade housing 26 to exit from an opposite side of the blade housing 26.A first end of the fastener 54, opposite the blade 52, may be configuredto provide a manually grip-able head 56, to allow manual rotationthereof or to be rotatable by a common or specialized hand tool, such asa screwdriver or wrench. An opposite second end of the fastener 54 iscoupled with a nut 58 or similar component to retain the blade 52 alongthe length of the fastener 54. In another embodiment, the blade 52 mayinclude a threaded bore which may provide direct threadable couplingwith the fastener 54. As depicted in FIGS. 4 and 6, a coil spring 60 isdisposed on the fastener 54 between the blade 52 and the blade housing26 to bias the blade 52 against the nut 58, away from the blade housing26, and outward from the blade channel 48.

The position of the blade 52 within the blade channel 48 and thus itsposition in the central bore 30 is adjustable via rotation of thefastener 54. In one embodiment, the fastener 54 is threadably coupledwith the blade housing 26 such that rotation of the fastener 54 extendsor retracts the extension of the fastener 54 relative to the bladechannel 48 and thus the position of the blade 52 within the bladechannel 48. In another embodiment, the fastener 54 is not threadablycoupled to the blade housing 26 but is threadably coupled to the blade52. As such, rotation of the fastener 54 moves the blade 52 along thelength of the fastener 54 to thereby alter the position of the blade 52in the blade channel 48. Alternatively, the fastener 54 may threadablycouple to the nut 58 and the nut 58 may be retained against rotationrelative to the blade 52 such that rotation of the fastener 54 moves thenut 58 and thus the blade 52 along the length of the fastener 54. In anyof these configurations the spring 60 biases the blade 52 toward thesecond end of the fastener 54 and away from or out of the blade channel48.

The blade 52 comprises a generally rectangular cuboidal form with awedge removed from an end thereof to form a generally L-shaped cuttingedge 59. An upstanding portion 61 of the cutting edge 59 cuts the jacket12 along a radius of the cable 14 while a base portion 63 of the cuttingedge 59 may provide a longitudinally aligned cut. Preferably the baseportion 63 is positioned relative to the cable 14 by adjustment of thefastener 54 to engage between the jacket 12 and the underlyingcomponents of the cable 14 to lift or direct the cut jacket 12 radiallyoutward and away from the cable 14. The ejector surfaces 50 of the basewall 46 of the opening 38 may be further positioned or angled radiallyoutward to aid lifting of the cut jacket 12 radially outward and awayfrom the cable 14. The ejector surfaces 50, as well as the forward wall40 and sidewall 44 also preferably direct the cut jacket 12 away from anoperator of the tool 10 so as to avoid entanglement and to easeoperation of the tool 10.

The die 28 comprises a hollow cylinder having a cable-specific bore 62extending longitudinally therethrough. A portion of a wall of the die 28is removed so as not to substantially obstruct the opening 38 in theblade housing 26 or the blade window 34 in the cutting cylinder 24 whenthe die 28 is installed in the leading end 32 of the cutting cylinder24. The cable-specific bore 62 is preferably sized, i.e. has adiametrical dimension, sufficient to receive a cable 14 of predeterminedsize, dimension, or gage therein in close proximity to the interior wallof the bore 62. Preferably, the tool 10 is provided along with aplurality of dies 28, each sized for use with one or more particularcable 14 sizes.

The die 28 is interchangeably and removeably installable in the leadingend of the cutting cylinder 24. An exterior dimension of the die 28 issized to fit within the central bore 30 at the leading end 32 of thecutting cylinder 24 in close proximity thereto. In one embodiment, theblade housing 26 extends beyond the leading end 32 of the cuttingcylinder 24 and the die 28 is inserted into and retained within the bore36 in the blade housing 26.

A retention pin 64 is provided in the blade housing 26 to extend througha wall of the blade housing 26, into the central bore 30 of the cuttingcylinder 24, and into engagement with an exterior surface of the die 28.The retention pin 64 may be threadably coupled with the blade housing 26to function similarly to a set-screw such that the pin 64 may be rotatedinto contact with the die 28 to retain the die 28 within the cuttingcylinder 24. In one embodiment, the pin 64 comprises a set screw orcomprises a thumb screw having a manually grip-able head. In anotherembodiment, the pin 64 is provided with a spring bias that biases thepin 64 against the die 28 and/or into a detent or similar feature on theexterior surface of the die 28 to retain the die 28 in position.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, the drive unit 22 comprises ahousing 66, a gear train 68, a drive axle 70, and a driver-stabilizingplate 72. As depicted in FIGS. 1-9, the housing 66 may be formed from aplurality of plate members, including a front plate 74, a pair of spacerplates 76, a mid-plate 78, and a rear plate 80. However, one of skill inthe art will recognize a variety of other forms and configurations thehousing 66 may take without departing from the scope of embodimentsdescribed herein. For example, the housing 66 may comprise an injectionmolded part with appropriate standoffs, ribs, and other featuresconfigured to enable the functionalities described herein.

The front, mid, rear, and spacer plates 74, 78, 80, 76 are generallycontinuous plate members. The spacer plates 76 provide coaxially alignedapertures 82 sized to receive the cutting cylinder 24 therethrough andmay provide mounting locations for the drive axle 70 and for a stub axle98 interior to the housing 66. The drive axle 70 and/or the stub axle 98may also be fully or partially supported by any of the front, mid, andrear plates 74, 78, 80. The front, mid, and rear plates 74, 78, 80 maybe at least partially skeletonized to remove material from the bodiesthereof while retaining an exterior wall around their perimeter whichmay aid to reduce weight of the tool 10 as well as material coststherefor. The spacer plates 76 have a thickness sufficient to space thefront, mid, and rear plates 74, 78, 80 apart a distance to provide spacefor the gear train 68 and other components within the housing 66. In oneembodiment, the front, mid, and rear plates 74, 78, 80 are constructedfrom a metal plate, such as aluminum or steel, while the spacer plates76 are constructed from a plastic, resin, fiberglass, or similarlightweight material which may reduce the weight and/or material costsof the tool 10.

As depicted in FIG. 6, the gear train 68 includes three circular,circumferentially toothed gears: a drive gear 84, a transfer gear 86,and a cutting-cylinder gear 88. The gears 84, 86, 88 of the gear train68 are aligned in a single plane with the mid-plate 78 and are capturedbetween the spacer plates 76. Although a particular gear trainconfiguration is shown and described herein, it is understood that avariety of other configurations may be employed to provide a desiredmechanical advantage and to transfer rotational motion from the driveaxle 70 to the cutting cylinder 24 without departing from the scope ofembodiments described herein. For example, a plurality of other gears, achain, or a belt might be employed.

The drive gear 84 is affixed to the drive axle 70 to be rotatable by thedrive axle 70. The drive axle 70 is rotatably coupled to the front andrear plates 74, 80 via a bearing 89 carried by each of the plates 74, 80and extends through an aperture 91 each of the spacer plates 76. Thedrive axle 70 is positioned at a location spaced transversely apart fromthe cutting cylinder and extends longitudinally and parallel to thecutting cylinder 24 toward and through an aperture 90 in the rear plate80 as well as the bearing 89 carried thereby. A distal end of the driveaxle 70 extends beyond the rear plate 80 and includes a plurality offacets 92 along its exterior surface that are engageable by teeth of achuck 94 of a driver 96 or similar drive means.

The transfer gear 86 is positioned between and meshed with both thedrive gear 84 and the cutting-cylinder gear 88 to transfer rotationalmotion therebetween. The transfer gear 86 is disposed on a stub axle 98that extends longitudinally from the front plate 74 through the spacerplates 76 and to the rear plate 80. A distal end of the stub axle 98 maybe received and supported within apertures 100 in the front and rearplates 74, 80 and/or the spacer plates 76. The stub axle 98 may be fixedto allow the transfer gear 86 to rotate thereon or the stub axle 98 mayrotate with the transfer gear 86 relative to the housing 66.

The cutting-cylinder gear 88 is affixed to a gear flange 102 extendingradially outward from an exterior surface of the cutting cylinder 24 bya plurality of fasteners 104 installed therebetween. In one embodiment,the cutting-cylinder gear 88 may be formed in an exterior surface of thecutting cylinder 24 and/or may be provided by the gear flange 102. Thegear flange 102 and the cutting-cylinder gear 88 are thus capturedbetween the spacer plates 76 and provide a union between the cuttingcylinder 24 and the housing 66. The cutting cylinder 24 is therebyrotatable within the apertures 82 in the spacer plates 76 and relativeto the housing 66 by rotation of the cutting-cylinder gear 88.

With reference to FIGS. 7-9 in particular, the driver-stabilizing plate72 is coupled to the rear plate 88 of the housing 66 and extendstransversely away from the cutting cylinder 24 a distance before turningto extend longitudinally rearward and generally parallel to a rotationalaxis of the cutting cylinder 24. A distal end portion of the plate 72 isthus spaced apart from the cutting cylinder 24 and includes a slot 106that is sized and positioned to receive a handle portion 108 of thedriver 96 while also enabling the driver 96 to be properly positioned toengage the drive axle 70. Engagement of the handle portion 108 of thedriver 96 with the slot 106 resists rotational motion of the driver 96relative to the tool 10 and about the drive axle 70 during operation ofthe tool 10.

The driver 96 preferably comprises a common, battery-powered, hand-helddrill of which there are many examples in the art, however such is notintended to restrict the driver 96 to any particular drive means. Forexample, a variety of available products may be employed includingcorded and cordless electric drills, drill drivers, hammer drills,impact drivers, and ratchets as well as pneumatic and gas-powereddevices and customized specialty devices. The driver 96 includes thechuck 94 or similar adaptor which is configured to engage the drive axle70 such that the drive axle 70 can be rotated by the driver 96.

With continued reference to the FIGS. 7-9, operation of the jacketremoval tool 10 is described in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.Initially, an appropriate die 28 is selected based on the size or gageof a particular cable 14 to be stripped, i.e. to have the jacket 12removed therefrom. The die 28 is inserted into the leading end 32 of thecutting cylinder 24 and into abutment with the shoulder 33 therein. Theretention pin 64 operated to engage and retain the die 28 in position bythreadably rotating into contact with the exterior surface of the die 28or with a detent or similar feature thereon or by actuating a springbias on the pin 64.

The blade 52 is adjusted by rotating the fastener 54 to place thecutting edge 59 in a desired position relative to the central bore 30 ofthe cutting cylinder 24 to provide a desired depth of cut into the cable14. Preferably, the blade 52 is positioned to place the base portion 63of the cutting edge 59 between the jacket 12 and any underlyingcomponents of the cable 14.

The driver 96 is coupled to the drive axle 70 by inserting the driveaxle 70 into the chuck 94 and inserting the handle portion 108 of thedriver 96 into the slot 106 of the driver-stabilizing plate 72. Thechuck 94 is adjusted to engage the drive axle 70 and resist relativerotational motion therebetween.

An end of the cable 14 is inserted through the leading end of the die 28into the cutting cylinder 24 and brought into contact with the blade 52.The driver 96 is energized to rotate the drive axle 70 which in turnrotates the drive gear 84. Engagement of the handle portion 108 of thedriver 96 with the slot 106 in the driver-stabilizing plate 72substantially prevents the driver 96 from rotating relative to the driveaxle 70 and the tool 10 when a rotational force is generated by thedriver 96.

Rotational motion of the drive axle 70 is transferred to the cuttingcylinder 24 via the gear train 68; the drive gear 84 rotates thetransfer gear 86 about the stub axle 98 which then rotates thecutting-cylinder gear 88 and the cutting cylinder 24 coupled thereto. Inone embodiment, the gear train 68 provides a gear ratio of about 6:1,i.e. six rotations of the drive axle 70 produces about one rotation ofthe cutting cylinder 24, however the gear train 68 can be otherwiseconfigured without departing from the scope of embodiments describedherein.

The blade 52 and the blade housing 26 are fixedly coupled to the cuttingcylinder 24 and thus rotation of the cutting cylinder 24 also operatesto move the blade 52 about the circumference of the cable 14. Suchmovement engages the cutting edge 59 of the blade 52 with the cablejacket 12 and cuts through the jacket 12 to the preset depth. The cutjacket 12 is directed away from the cable 14, along the blade 52 and/orthe ejector surfaces 50 of the base wall 46 of the blade housing 26, andout of the opening 38 in the blade housing 26 (not shown).

The upstanding portion 61 of the cutting edge 59 of the blade 52 maydraw the blade 52 and the tool 10 longitudinally along the cable 14and/or the operator may provide a longitudinal force parallel to thelength of the cable 14 to aid movement of the tool 10 along the cable14. The interior portion 110 of the cable 14 with the jacket 12 removedcontinues through the central bore 30 and exits a terminal end 112 ofthe cutting cylinder 24.

The operator may continue stripping the jacket 12 from any desiredlength of the cable 14 up to and including the full length of the cable14. Upon reaching a desired length of cable 14 with the jacket removed12, the operator de-energizes the driver 96 and simply slides the tool10 in the opposite longitudinal direction along and off of the cable 14.It may be necessary to clip or cut off a ribbon of the removed jacket 12near the opening 38 of the blade housing 26 to ease removal of the tool10 from the cable 14. The driver 96 might also be operated in anopposite rotational direction a short distance to disengage the blade 52from the jacket 12 to further aid removal of the tool 10.

Orientation of the drive axle 70 and thus the driver 96 parallel to thelongitudinal axes of the cutting cylinder 26 and the cable 14 easesoperation of the tool 10 and reduces strain on the operator. Theoperator can simply apply any necessary force in the longitudinaldirection in a natural way, i.e. in a way in which the driver 96 isdesigned to apply such force and in which the handle portion 108 thereofis configured to enable the operator to comfortably apply such force.For example, where the driver 96 comprises a drill, the drill isgenerally configured to enable a user to apply a force in a direction ofthe drilling action, i.e. parallel to a rotational axis of a drill bitdisposed in the drill to aid the drilling operation. Similarly, a drillcoupled with the tool 10 would thus be configured to enable an operatorto apply a force generally parallel to the drive axle 70 which iscoupled with the drill in the same manner as a drill bit would be in astandard application of the drill.

Further, engagement of the driver 96 with the driver-stabilizing plate72 greatly reduces or eliminates any rotational torque or other forcesthat must be counteracted by the operator. And the mechanical advantageprovided by the gear train 68 reduces the loads on the driver 96 and theoperator during operation of the tool 10.

Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as wellas components not shown, are possible without departing from the scopeof the claims below. Embodiments of the technology have been describedwith the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternativeembodiments will become apparent to readers of this disclosure after andbecause of reading it. Alternative means of implementing theaforementioned can be completed without departing from the scope of theclaims below. Identification of structures as being configured toperform a particular function in this disclosure and in the claims belowis intended to be inclusive of structures and arrangements or designsthereof that are within the scope of this disclosure and readilyidentifiable by one of skill in the art and that can perform theparticular function in a similar way. Certain features andsub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference toother features and sub-combinations and are contemplated within thescope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A jacket removal tool for removing a jacket froman electrical cable comprising: a cutting cylinder forming alongitudinally extending central bore extending therethrough and beingrotatable about a longitudinal axis that is coaxial with the centralbore; a blade housing affixed to the cutting cylinder at or near aleading end of the cutting cylinder, the blade housing having a housingbore sized to receive the leading end of the cutting cylinder; a blademounted on the blade housing such that the blade housing and blade arerotatable with the cutting cylinder and the blade includes a cuttingedge that extends in at least partially overlapping relationship withthe central bore to provide a desired depth of cut for removing thejacket from an electrical cable inserted into the housing bore; a driveaxle aligned parallel to and spaced transversely apart from thelongitudinal axis of the cutting cylinder and projecting rearwardrelative to the leading end of the cutting cylinder, the drive axlebeing operably coupled with the cutting cylinder to transfer rotationalmotion of the drive axle to rotational motion of the cutting cylinder,and the drive axle being engageable by a driver configured to rotate thedrive axle; a gear train including a plurality of gears that includes atleast a drive gear and a cutting-cylinder gear, the drive gear beingnon-rotationally coupled with the drive axle and the cutting-cylindergear being non-rotationally coupled with the cutting cylinder, whereinthe drive gear is rotated with the drive axle and imparts rotationalmotion to the plurality of gears in the gear train including thecutting-cylinder gear which imparts rotation of the cutting cylinderabout the longitudinal axis; a drive unit housing through which thecutting cylinder extends and is rotatable relative to the drive unithousing and which houses the gear train; and a driver-stabilizing platecoupled to the drive unit housing, the driver-stabilizing plateproviding a generally longitudinally extending portion that forms alongitudinal slot, the slot being sized and positioned to receive atleast a portion of a handle of the driver therein when the driver iscoupled with the drive axle and preventing rotation of the driverrelative to the jacket removal tool.
 2. The jacket removal tool of claim1, wherein the drive gear is rotated in a six to one ratio relative tothe cutting-cylinder gear.
 3. The jacket removal tool of claim 1,wherein the drive unit housing comprises a plurality of plates abuttedface-to-face, the plurality of plates including a front plate, amid-plate, first and second spacer plates, and a rear plate, wherein thefirst spacer plate extends between the front plate and the mid-plate andthe second spacer plate extends between the mid-plate and the rear platewith the spacer plates having a thickness sufficient to space the frontplate, mid-plate and rear plate apart a distance sufficient to provide aspace for the gear train, and wherein the drive axle is rotationallycoupled to the rear plate and extends through the rear plate to providea distal end to which the driver is couplable.
 4. The jacket removaltool of claim 1, wherein the position of the blade is adjustablerelative to the central bore to adjust a position of the cutting edgewithin the central bore.
 5. The jacket removal tool of claim 1, furthercomprising: a die having a bore therethrough that has dimensions thatare the same as or just larger than outer dimensions of a cable that isto have a jacket thereon removed by the jacket removal tool, wherein aterminal end of the die is removably secured within a leading portion ofthe central bore.
 6. The jacket removal tool of claim 5, wherein the dieis interchangeable with one or more similarly configured dies havingbores of different dimensions adapted for cables of different outerdimensions and wherein a leading portion of the central bore has agreater radial dimension than an adjacent portion of the central bore toprovide clearance for insertion of the die therein.
 7. The jacketremoval tool of claim 1, wherein a cable is disposed through a leadingend of the cutting cylinder and into contact with the blade and out of aterminal end of the cutting cylinder, and wherein the blade cuts intothe jacket and directs the cut jacket radially outward away from thecable through a blade housing opening formed in the blade housing, aportion of the cable extending from the blade and outward beyond theterminal end of the cutting cylinder no longer having the jacketthereon.
 8. The jacket removal tool as in claim 1 wherein a bladehousing opening is formed in the blade housing, the blade housingopening is defined in part by a base wall comprising at least one guidesurface with a blade channel formed in the base wall, the blade isdisposed in the blade channel and retained therein on a screw extendingthrough the blade channel such that rotation of the screw adjusts theposition of the blade within the blade channel.
 9. The jacket removaltool as in claim 8 wherein a spring is disposed on the screw between theblade and the blade housing to bias the blade outward from the bladechannel.
 10. A jacket removal tool comprising: a cutting cylinderforming a longitudinally extending bore and being rotatable about alongitudinal axis that is coaxial with the bore; a blade that isrotatable with the cutting cylinder and that includes a cutting edgethat extends at least partially into the bore; a drive unit housingthrough which the cutting cylinder extends and is rotatable relativethereto; a drive axle rotatably coupled with the drive unit housing andextending from the housing, the drive axle being aligned parallel to andspaced transversely apart from the longitudinal axis, the drive axlebeing operably coupled with the cutting cylinder to transfer rotationalmotion of the drive axle to rotational motion of the cutting cylinder,and the drive axle being engageable by a driver configured to rotate thedrive axle; and a die removably coupled with the cutting cylinder, thedie including a bore extending therethrough and having an internaldimension that is equal to or just larger than an exterior dimension ofa cable that is to have a jacket thereon removed by the jacket removaltool; and a driver-stabilizing plate coupled to the drive unit housing,the driver-stabilizing plate providing a generally longitudinallyextending portion that forms a longitudinal slot, the slot being sizedand positioned to receive at least a portion of a handle of the drivertherein when the driver is coupled with the drive axle and preventingrotation of the driver relative to the jacket removal tool.
 11. Thejacket removal tool of claim 10, further comprising: a gear trainincluding a plurality of gears that includes at least a drive gear and acutting-cylinder gear, the drive gear being non-rotationally coupledwith the drive axle and the cutting-cylinder gear being non-rotationallycoupled with the cutting cylinder, wherein the drive gear is rotatedwith the drive axle and imparts rotational motion to the plurality ofgears in the gear train including the cutting-cylinder gear whichimparts rotation of the cutting cylinder about the longitudinal axis.12. The jacket removal tool of claim 10, further comprising: a bladehousing having a blade housing opening that is in communication with thecentral bore, the blade housing opening including a blade channel withinwhich the blade is disposed and adjustable to move the cutting edgethereof along a radius of the central bore, and the opening includingone or more ejector surfaces that direct a portion of a jacket that hasbeen cut from a cable by the blade radially outward and away from thecable.